


The Orange

by kindauthor



Series: Threads of Life (EndgameAU) [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers Tower, But no one died because f that, Domestic Avengers, F/M, I just thought of this randomly and I wanted to write it!, Mentions everyone in some aspect!, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), no y/n
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28398897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindauthor/pseuds/kindauthor
Summary: It's been years since Thanos, thankfully no one died, but the original Avengers have been slowly phasing in new recruits. You have been working with them since before SHIELD collapsed, but it's a rare moment when the tower is empty and you're hungry after a workout.OrIt’s 2012 and we’re all shitposting about Avengers Tower AUs again~ Shameless Reader/Loki flirty fun.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Threads of Life (EndgameAU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098812
Kudos: 41





	The Orange

**Author's Note:**

> Technically Post-Endgame but no one died? Don’t look too closely, plotholes. Also, wow I'm fandom-dating myself with this fic.

Really, and honestly, after _New York_ it should have been a little harder to become a SHIELD agent working so closely with the actual Avengers — but Tony Stark seemed to understand the need for bodies, so a body you became.

You were recruited first by chance, then slowly it became more and more apparent that you happened to work _really_ well with the team, in whatever hobbled together aspect they tended to work together. Sure, you weren’t on Sakar with Thor and Bruce (those stories were _wild_ when they got back) but you were at the final battle, and you did throw a pretty mean fucking punch at an alien before Peter swung along and finished the job for you.

SHIELD disbanded, but the general feeling of being on a team didn’t. The compound was rebuilt, just somewhere a little more stable upstate. Tony funded it, Cap retired, and maybe there was a little bit more to the stories of them disappearing for long lengths of time and coming back with gaggles of teens who didn’t train very well, but had a lot of promise and a glimmer and a shadow of an “A” in their eyes.

Those were all out of sight and out of mind, however.

You lived in the rebuilt tower in New York City, Tony made sure it stood again, mostly because he needed a place to live when he was going back and forth to meetings — and Pepper needed a place to collapse after a long day talking tech with men who rolled their eyes a little too much.

“Heya, Hap.” You nodded at Happy as you came out of the gym somewhere around the forty-first floor, “Anything going on?”

Happy looked up from his phone, he was a little older, with a few more lines around his face, but still regarded you in the same way he regarded Peter sometimes — younger than you should have been to risk your neck for the greater part of the galaxy, but there was a fondness behind his eyes.

“Peter is back at NYU for the semester with MJ, Nat and Cap went out to find a few more recruits, Tony and Pepper went to the cabin with Morgan for the holidays, the guardians are celebrating somewhere on an unpronounceable planet — probably with the _other_ Cap —“ Happy paused and then sighed, “There are probably more, but honestly I’m about to go home to a nice warm dinner.”

You laughed lightly, pushing your sweaty hair off your forehead and nodding. “Go, thanks for the mini-update. Enjoy your dinner.” He cast you a little smile as you two passed each other, you getting into the elevator to ride up to the resident levels and Happy riding down to the underground parking and main levels.

Actually, you were fairly certain you _knew_ where the missing members of the team were that he hadn’t mentioned. Bruce was holed up in a lab somewhere, still trying to iron out the kinks of being Hulk all the time, Wanda and Vision were somewhere else entirely, and Thor was in New Asgard.

The elevator dinged and you stepped out onto the empty floor, sucking in a breath before pushing two glass doors open and telling Karen to turn on the TV. It flickered to life, the news popping on to talk about someone doing something that was quickly thwarted by someone else. The perks of being one of the older recruits — much like Sharon Carter or Maria Hill — was that a lot of times it was a “blink and you’ll miss it” daily crime, someone else took care of it.

Cap had asked you a few weeks ago if you would consider stepping down from daily business to teach, the classes rotated, as did teachers. Gamora and Nebula were fond of showing up to school recruits in every possible way and then zip back off to space — Bucky, bless his heart, didn’t have it in him to be mean to the younger teens when they fucked up.

You tugged open the door to the fridge and stared at the leftovers and food scattered around. Maybe you would retire, maybe it was time.

The TV suddenly switched off and you leaned out from around the fridge doors, turning to stare at the blank screen. The power didn’t go out — Avenger’s Tower _never_ went out, plus the recessed lights in the kitchen were still humming quietly.

Letting the door shut, you stepped out from the kitchen, pushing your sleeves up slightly and glancing around.

“Karen,” You cleared your throat, head swiveling back and forth. “Turn on the TV.”

It lit back up, the news flickering back on, highlighting Peter saving a bodega cat from a tree.

“Weird.” You muttered to yourself, turning back around to stretch and striding back into the kitchen. None of the food had looked good in the fridge anyway, so you snatched an orange from a bowl on the counter and lifted up slightly, sitting on the edge of the cool surface as you peeled the fruit. Dropping peels into the trash chute, you pulled one leg up to rest on the counter, watching the TV as it continued on, moving onto celebrity news that was tinged with a fun segment called “Avenger Spotting” — and there was Thor, shirtless lifting logs in New Asgard.

You snorted and pressed your thumb along the orange, splitting the peeled fruit in half and then pulling the segments apart carefully.

As you lifted a piece to your lips, the TV went out again — this time in a flash of green light.

The juices exploded in your mouth, suddenly in darkness save for the dim lights of the kitchen. Chewing for a moment, you sighed and then popped another wedge into your mouth, turning to rest your chin on your knee as you looked out the wall of windows on New York.

“Hi Loki.”

It was cold, the hand that brushed along the thin expanse of skin between the top of your leggings and the bottom of your training top, both a gunmetal grey with little “A”s stitched into them, one at the hip and one just on your ribcage.

There was a light chuckle, and he hummed, fingers appearing to steal a piece of the orange in your hands. You turned your head from the windows, catching the light in his eyes as he popped the slide into his mouth, lips closing as he smirked.

“Hello.”

You swallowed the piece you were eating and gave him a half-grin. “I thought you were back making peace with Val and Thor.”

He shrugged, still close, eyes flickering over you sitting on the counter and the orange in your hand. “Why should _I_ make peace.”

“Maybe because _Val_ is the _queen_.” You pointed out, shifting slightly so your back was to the windows, slightly hunched as you adjusted on the counter and pulled your other leg up to rest on the cool stone. “Or have you finally forgone your want to rule?”

He puffed, a half put-out, half-angry sound that seemed more miffed than anything. You wouldn’t use the term _chained_ , but he was definitely on more of a leash than before, but he also didn’t have Thanos in his mind, deluding with grandeur visions of things that would never come to pass. Bruce swore that Loki was harmless, just a little bit of a menace here and there. You tended to agree, though Tony hated him.

“Technically I am still King.”

“Of a planet that doesn’t exist anymore.” You reminded him softly, holding out another slice of the orange.

Loki’s eyes narrowed. He was in plain clothes — as plain as he normally got — which was a tailored button up shirt and slacks, but you could _sense_ the magic. His hair was shorter, but still a little longer than most, accenting his sharp features and cutting smirk. Loki leaned down and plucked the orange slice from your outstretched fingers, twisting it around carefully before taking a bite, letting the juices pool on his lips before his tongue swiped across to gather them.

You watched him — your lips parted as you swallowed and shook your head.

 _This_ was why you didn’t retire. If you didn’t have training to keep your mind occupied, the idea of a mission, another life-ending, apocalyptic event, you were distracted. Distractions from a trickster with thin fingers and a sharp gaze caused slip ups.

“Enlighten me if I’m incorrect,” when he leaned in his breath smelled like peppermint with a spice of citrus, “but the tower _is_ empty.”

Your eyes flickered up to meet his and you tried and failed to hide the smile that lifted the edges of your lips. “Just us.”

“Fantastic,” his icy hand that had been toying now pressed against your skin, pulling you closer to the edge of the countertop as he leaned slightly over you. He was so tall, if you hadn’t ever met Thor, you’d think Loki embodied the idea of _god_ , slender and elegant and wicked.

You dropped the orange as his nose brushed your’s and his lips latched to your’s, pulling you in deeper as you kissed him passionately, breathlessly knowing that whatever poor sap got security duty tonight would have to wipe the tapes. You didn't want a repeat of last time.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it! Sorry to cut at, arguably, the best part, but I hope you still enjoyed regardless. <3 Happy Holidays!


End file.
